Song of the Over-Thinker
- Mar 23
- 1 min read
Updated: Mar 30
When your mind won’t slow down,
it can start to feel like a trap.
Reflections
Song of the Over-Thinker is a short poem about mental health and overthinking that opens with a simple warning: the mind is a necessary tool—but it can get out of control. What begins as thinking can turn into overthinking, creating a kind of mental prison.
The mind becomes a maze—filled with regret, questions, and restless searching. The more you try to solve what troubles you, the more it pulls you in, leaving you stuck in thoughts that lead nowhere.
In the final lines of the poem, the tone shifts. Instead of chasing answers, the poet describes a feeling of release. Not every question needs to be answered. Sometimes peace begins when you step out of the maze—and allow yourself to let go.
You can find a different perspective on the mind in The Gift of a Clear Mind.
A Question for You
What helps you step out of the maze when your thoughts won’t slow down?
Affirmation
I allow myself to let go of thoughts that do not bring me peace.
Thoughts stalk my peace like thieves in the night...Once the window opened wide, sadness left the room like smoke....
It is only a beginning to praise the use of figurative imagery in Michael Shaw’s poetry. His language not only shines but illumines; the inspiration couched in his gently phrased verses is never trivial but possessed of uncanny depth -- Michael can capture the profound in a phrase. He does so in words so clear that I understand instantly what he is communicating. I reread not to comprehend but to enjoy, to learn, to feel heartened.
At age 79, it is rare for me to encounter, much less to embrace, thoughts that confront so wide a variety of negative mind traps…